Summit alternators good-bad?

1 wire alt on sale but no one there can answer if you need to bring it up to 1200 rpm's to start charging, called twice and got different answers. they put me on hold to talk to tech line and could not give me the answer if it is charging and how much is it charging below 1200 rpm's. Did anybody buy one of these and are you happy with it? Stock alt's from what i read start charging at a low rpm and i can wait to hit the junk yards to find and buy one but feel a little safer with a new one..

dont do it. a three wire one is way better.

I have a feeling you will have mixed responses on this one. I went to a summit one wire and it works great.

Buzzard - Most 1 wire need to have the internal regulator excited to start charging the system. Once the engine is started bring the rpms up to 1200-1500 and the alt should produce 13.4-13.8 volts and remain at that rate even at idle or when you turn the engine off. Upon restarting you will have to repeat the process.
With the 1 wire there is no warning light function so your idiot light will be inop and the voltage sense line is wired directly to the regulator output inside the alt. Some guys with the 1 wire complain their headlights are dim even with a 100 amp alt wired to the battery. This is because there is a lack voltage sensing at the power distribution point - where as the 3 wire has a terminal for this.
The 1 wire looks cool and easier to wire up but like x2bj and the Gov. I'm sticking with my 3 wire. Hope this help and Good Luck with it.

OG

I had a problem when I bought my van as it was not charging the battery. I learned that I had a 3 wire Alternator already installed. I thought about replacing it with a 1 wire, but ended up getting the right regulator and follwing the instructions here on how to wire it all up and it works perfect. I also have the Idiot light working which I like as well. I believe the 1 wire is probably cheaper and easier to hook up, but I went with what I already had and have NO problems......

I have the GM 1 wire setup on ALL my vehicles, and have never had problem 1. No idiot light, no problem. Im not an idiot. I also like to install volt gauges in all my cars... Just so I know EXACTLY what the system is doing. I never rely on warning lights which can easily burn out. Ive had too many "tows" that way. To each their own tho guys you know? I know plenty of guys who only have idiot lights and OE style equipment with no problems. This is just what works for ME.

Weird I have Idiot lights in all my Vintage VW's and NEVER had a tow, MAYBE I just take time to make sure they are not burnt out??? I do the easy stuff like what the manual says, I turn it to the on position the Idiot light turns on and start your good to go. It's really IDIOT proof..............

But like ^^HE^^ said to each their own......

If you decide to go that route though and need a volt gauge I have a couple just PM me.

i bought a one wire alt for my 66 GM pontiac. if you use one wire you have to rev it up to 1200ish to excite the rectifier. but i bet the alt has provisions (2 male terminals side by side) on the side of the case. i cant remember the wiring of it because i did it years ago but basically one of the terminals is wired to an IGN on source. when you turn on your ign it excites the rectifier so you dont need to rev it up...it simply starts charging when it starts spinning regardless of RPM. that being said i havent had too much luck with Summit brand alternators. bearings going out and like mentioned above low output at low RPMs with lights/heater/stereo etc. i would reccomend you save up and get a power master. i have powermaster 140 amp on my 66 econline and it has performed very well.

Once again thank you all for your input. I am running a volt and a inline Amp gauge, get a little nervous when i see that amp gauge jump up when headlights are on and good tunes cranking on the stero. I guess i'll just have to save up some more pennys for now.. Once again thank you all

Ditto Gov..Although IMO I wouldn't wire it like that. With the sensing wire connected to the alternator Batt stud it will only sense the output voltage of the alternator itself instead of the load connections further downstream. There's a voltage drop downstream from the alternator from the internal resistance of the wires and components IE headlights, cooling fans, bigger stereos etc. and they are not accounted for with this scenario and the voltage at the battery maybe lower than it should be.
Instead, I route the sensing wire to the switch end on the solenoid to get a reliable voltage reading and the alternator can charge the battery more correctly. I checked this out using using a voltmeter.

OG